PROJECT SUMMARY P/F Program The objectives of Pilot and Feasibility (P/F) Program are to provide a mechanism for enhancing interdisciplinary research projects for junior faculty and to promote career development in digestive diseases. Since 1999, 56/58 awards have been to investigators at the Assistant Professor level or more junior (Track 1), and 14/15 since 2013. Since 1999, the P/F Program has an overall Return on Investment (ROI) of 58:1. We have established a detailed and rigorous peer-review process to select the most meritorious proposals from applicants with the greatest potential. We assure constructive and interactive feedback through email, phone and face-to-face discussions and meetings with all the applicants prior to application and written critiques following review. We receive 9-15 applications each year, with 4-5 funded following internal and external review with final priority assigned by our External Advisory Board. SPECIFIC AIMS The Program is advertised and promoted within the Washington University community with two key objectives: Aim 1: To provide funds that spur creative proposals that help faculty establish independent, extramurally funded programs in digestive disease research, facilitate expansion of the Research Base, and attract new ideas to the field of digestive disease as a whole. Aim 2: To provide a crucial mechanism to promote career development of new investigators, particularly emerging junior faculty (Track 1). The WU-DDRCC P/F Program funds junior investigators at a critical juncture in their career when preliminary data could mean the difference between successful extramural funding and building a career in GI research vs. pursuing either non-GI research or other career goals entirely. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS. Between 2003-18 (15 P/F cycles), we funded 43 investigators with total investment of $1,551,372 (average: $36,078/award). Those P/F Awardees in turn have received $59.8M in total direct costs for an ROI of 39:1. Our ROI for the last cycle (2013-18) is 26:1. 95% of our P/F Awardees are still engaged in full-time academic research, with 72% (31/43) obtaining subsequent independent funding (33 R01, 6 R21, 4 R03, 6 K awards (1 K01, 2 K23, 4 K08), 3 ACS). P/F funding has led to our P/F Awardees publishing numerous high impact publications in Science (Lora Hooper), Nature (Newberry), and Cell (Stappenbeck, Ting Wang). In the last four years alone, our Awardees have published their P/F work in Nature Commun (DeBosch), Hepatology (Rudnick), Cell Host Microbe (Mysorekar, Xiaochao Wei), and Nat Methods (Ting Wang). The P/F Program is run by Dr. Jason Mills, closely coordinated with Drs. Davidson and Tarr. Together, they recruit new junior candidates across basic and clinical Departments at Washington University, bringing a considerable breadth of new, junior investigators into GI research. Since the last renewal, P/F Awardees have come from a diverse set of departmental backgrounds: Medicine (GI, Oncology, Hematology, Infectious Disease, Nutrition, Cardiology, Endocrinology Divisions), Pediatrics (GI, Rheumatology), Pathology & Immunology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Obstetrics & Gynecology.